The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-09-21
THE GIANT ELK.
A FAST DISAPPEARING ANIMAL
OF THE NORTHWEST.
Habits Of this Great Game-Their
Immense Antlers-The Bcllig-
erent Male Elks in
Deadly Combat.

| Deauly COInDaC.
A Fort Kcogh Dlontana) letter to
the New York Times says: The dcstruc-
ton of large game in the Northwest of
late years has been something appalling
to contemplate. How many giant elks
have fallen beneath the deadly rifles of
the pot hunters within the past decade
will, of course, never be known, but
Montana has furnished her quota, and
the number cannot be far from the tens
of thousands.
In this latitude elk grow to an enor-
nous size. We have principally two
species, the ordinary brown elk, who in
habits the lowlands and the foot hills of
the mountains, and the monster blue elk
of the Rockies, who ranges high, usually
feeding on the shrubs and berries that
grow near the borders of the timber line,
and seldom descending from the perpet-
ual snow district unless forced by the
scant vegetation to seek sustcnance be-
low.
The Yellowstone National Park is
about the only haven of safety left for
these noble game animals to seek, and
they seem to understand it, too, for,
either by instinct or reason, they have
been drifting over into the park during
the last two or three years, until now all
the large bands in the Northwest, with
the exception of those in the Big Horn
Range, are safely sheltered within our
great National reservation.
Mountain elk when full grown are
generally monstrous in size, averaging
all the way from eight hundred to fifteen
hundred pounds. The headgcar of these
animals is enormous, some of them weigh
forty, fifty and even sixty pounds, and
all handsomely mounted on graceful
head about the size of that of a horse
The legs are long and neck short, for
which reason, as rule, it browses on
plants, tree leaves, berries and shrubs
growing high, and when shrubs or close
growing grasses are to be reached the
beast either grayes along the steep hill
sides or else drops on his fore knees to
crop the succulent grasses. One elk
killed by the writer some time since
measured twenty-six inches length of
face; spread of horns, forty-five inches;
from brow to top of antlers, ffty-four
inches; had twelve tines, or branches,
the latter being handsomely and most
beautifully incased in soft velvety cover
ing very much like moss.
When traversing forest the big bulls
carry their antlers almost fiat back on the
shoulders, and can penetrate with the
utmost ease and facility the denscst
thickets or masses of brush where man
or any other animal would get hopelessly
entangled. They possess the art to per
fection of proceeding through the woods
with the utmost stcalthiness, stepping
here and there without as much as even
touching twig, and evading or softly
touching the leaves like the rustling of
gentle breeze.
In the summer and fall these animals
congregate in herds, but as the winter
creeps on, unless in narrow and con-
fined district, each family branches out
for himself, and wanders where it will
until April or May, when the young are
born, at which time the mother takes it.
self off with her fawns, and will have
nothing to do with the father of her fam
lily until October or November, when the
rutting season again begins. One reason
why we have so few elk in comparison
to other large game animals is that the
female, in the course of her life, seldom
bears more than two fawns, and this
only once in about every three years.
During the rutting season the males be-
come perfectly frantic, and are nearly as
dangerous to approach as grizzlies.
Their antlers and hoofs are their weapons
of offense and defense With the latter
some of them have kept a whole pack of
wolves at bay, trampling the life out Of
scores of the big gray timber customers
who haibitually hang around the elk
yards like so many skirmishers seeking
to devour the newborn young.
An elk yard is a clearing in the timber
wherein the snow has been trampled
down, and contains sometimes one
family, and again as many as fifty or
more. These yards are selected with a
great deal of sagacity, so as to he free
from winds and storms, we'll sheltered
from the weather, and also arranged to
stand off the attacks of grizzly and
silver-tip bears and mountain lions.
With their tremendous horns they carry
on most of their offensive warfare. but
these are used principally against their
own kind or against animals of a cor
responding size. When two bull elks
come together like a pair of billy goats
the conclusion of the blow can be heard
almost mile.
This belligerent spirit possesses them
during the rutting season, at which time
no bull elk can see another without COM
ing to blows. They first set up terrible
believing, then lower their heads and
rush at each other on the same track.
Crack! Something is broken or smashed,
and there they stand pushing and push
ing and pushing, until one or the other
backs down, when his opponent either
cores or tramples him to death. Not
unfrequently their huge antlers become
interminabIy locked. Then, when the
fight wancs, or one or the other is worn
out, one or both drop to the ground, or
one drags the other down, and both lie
down to die of starvation or be devoured
by wolves.